March 26, 2025 • 35 mins
Free agency isn’t over, but the roster has taken shape with nearly 20 new acquisitions or player re-signings. We’ll take a look at what free agency meant for the draft and how the Dolphins roster looks heading into the month of April.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
What is up Dolphins, And welcome to the Draft Time Podcast.
I am your host, Travis Winfield, And on today's show,
I am fired up because we are breaking the format
of the previous two weeks. Here on the show, we're
talking all things roster evaluation, where things stand following the
first couple of waves of free agency, with an eye
(00:30):
towards the draft. Kind of a comprehensive look behind and
look ahead on this edition of the podcast from the
Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
This is the Draft Time Podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
So as free agency has wound down rather significantly, we
are well past the first phase obviously, and maybe even
past the second phase entering the third one here and
the Dolphins kind of showed you their plan through their action.
In my opinion, Let's spend mid market money on a
on one guy really and then kind of go roll
(01:07):
shopping the rest of the way. That player, of course,
being James Daniels, the very very good guard, and that
right there, I think signals something of a change in
terms of philosophy because of the past thought that eight
million dollars for a guard was just something you would
not see in not just this offensive system, but the
other offensive systems across the league the share our core philosophies,
(01:31):
and I do think they looked at James and said,
this guy is probably closer to a fifteen million dollar player.
I mean, he's a better player than Aaron Banks and
it's not even close to my opinion. And because of
his injury situation last year, we can capitalize and get
him a massive reduction of the cost. Which that's not
a shift in organizational philosophy, because that has clearly been
(01:52):
the mo of Chris Greer, who has told you in
the past, like this league in sport has an injury
rate of one hundred percent, and so I don't think
they factor that as much as other teams do, for
better or worse.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
More on that in a moment.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
We're not going to just make this a two minute podcast,
but in the interest of sort of following essay style storytelling,
assert your point, prove your point, reassert your point, get out,
I think the best way to sort of blanket describe
the Dolphins free agency class was one of prudence. We
had Daniel Jeremiah, the Bootleg guys EJ and Brett on
(02:25):
the show. We've discussed major talking points from our talking
points rather from major podcast and what was the prevailing
thought about this year's class that it was lacking real
firepower up at the top. And by the time the
new league year even started, reported signings were flooding in
and re signings and has essentially wiped out more than
half of the nfl dot Com Top one oh one
(02:47):
free agents before the new league year even started. I mean,
we saw players who have been relatively middle of the
pack among their position in terms of production cash in
in the top of the mark deals. And that's that's
what has happened in the past. And it used to
be like really quality talent that would go towards like
the top of the market. Now you're starting to see
(03:09):
like adequate starters get cornerstone money. It's it's kind of crazy,
you know. James Daniels was the marquee signing right we
went over this last year. Free agency really should be
viewed in the same prism of the draft. You're never
going to bat a thousand, but the Dolphins hit on
the multi year guys, the Jordan Brooks, the John new Smith,
the Aaron Brewer. Where you had some one year guys
(03:30):
like Jonathan Harris, Neville Gallimore, Jack Driscoll that didn't make
the team, and you have to approach it accordingly. And
a lot of these contracts the Dolphins signed to one
year deals probably aren't going to work out. But as
long as you hit on the ones you invest in,
you get your own internally evaluations right, and you draft well,
you can afford to spend, you know, or go acquire
ten free agent contracts that are one year deals, and
(03:53):
if half of them work out, then you can re
you know, re up them, and that's great, But that's
a departure from my point. My point is that I
feel like James Daniel was a really good value get
for the Dolphins. I think he's a perfect scheme fit
that perfectly compliments Aaron Brewer and improves the run game
and makes your entire protection scheme better because of his
intelligence and his skill set. You signed Daniels to be
(04:13):
a starter. That's the too long, didn't read version rate there.
I think that applies to Willy Gay too. I mean, explosive,
can beat blocks in multiple ways. Plays with this temperament
and fire gives you two incredibly athletic modern day linebackers
who are capable of playing twenty yards downfield and coverage
or rushing the quarterback, and the value that provides in
(04:36):
this defense that is built around that that has seen
the Baltimore Ravens, which is the kind of offshoot of
this defense, right build their linebacker corps around two All
pros R two guys and Patrick Queen and Rokwan Smith
that are thought of as top ten players to their position.
I think Miami's right in that frame of mind now,
although Willie Gay's more of a projection in terms of
(04:57):
how he fits in this defense. But well, I feel
confident I'll be proven right in that. Outside of that,
to me, it was pretty role based, and you could
even say Willy Gay was role based too, because you
kind of filled the linebacker room out with guys that
have specific traits and skills. I think I probably think
higher of Willy Gay than most pundits out there. I
just think the athletic ability, explosion, temperament, play style, and
(05:18):
modern skill set is really going to click for this
defense and really take off in what he's asked to do.
But talk about the role based approach, we talked about
finding ways to be better off the edge blocking in
the running game. Pharaoh Brown and Nick Westbrook Akine are
two of the best blockers at their position in the
entire league. I mean it's Farroh. Brown is an extra
(05:39):
offensive lineman that can catch the football, and Nick Westbrook
Akine is a guy that can really expand what you
do in situational football down the red zone, third and short.
He can make your personnel groupings flexible because of his
ability to attach and block or beat one on one coverage.
Not a lot of guys that are number two and
three cornerbacks in this league I think can handle westbrook
(05:59):
a Kine all on their own. He's a very crafty
route runner and a big body and a good catch
radius and good strong hands. We talked about getting more
athletic on defense. You know, if he melafon Wu is
a modern day chess piece and Ashton Davis has really
good range in the back end, will he click here
and make an impact.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
We'll see.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
But that is definitely the calling card of his game,
even if I don't think it's, you know, a proven
asset at this point, and with melafon Wu obviously he's
far from that, given the fact that he has missed
like half the career games. But I wrote that before
the Willie Gay signings, So yeah, go ahead and amplify
that ten times because Willie is, pound for pound, one
of the best athletes in the game.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
He's a dog. And between those.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Three guys, you've accomplished that in some form and fashion.
You needed to find someone for that. Anthony Walker based
down role with his departure to Tampa Bay, right, and
he was elevated into a role beyond that when David
Long flamed out kind of spectacularly. I mean, he went
from being a really good linebacker to a guy that
couldn't play anymore. And I don't know that he'll find
(06:59):
a team this year. So the plan almost kind of
changed right away on you. And that's the nature of
the league, right And with kJ Britt, obviously we'll have
you know, camp and plenty of things to track in
terms of who plays where and how much. But BRIT's
tape tells me that he can definitely be the enforcer
in the running game and a bit of a tone setter,
a temperature changer. He plays that style and there has
been you know, I've talked to all these guys except
(07:20):
for if he melafon.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Will And just for your guys.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
For transparency's sake, we didn't get Iffy on the show
because he just wasn't here when our content team was
ready for him.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
So that's why it didn't happen.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
There's no mysterya around that we just couldn't make it
happen with this schedule.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Back to this programming.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Here you watch Larry Borham's tape, and when there were struggles,
I thought they were largely things outside of the scope
of what the Dolphins would ask him to do schematically,
and the things they do emphasize schematically was where Larry's
best tape was. Again, because I get accused of this
all the time, I'm not sitting here saying this is
going to tell you this guy's going to be a
starting left guard and a great player. I can just
(07:56):
see the thought and the thinking and the fit. That's
all I'm telling you on that topic. Alexander Madison has
been pretty consistent his entire career and brings more of
that hammer mentality. And I just like the way he
can kind of push piles and keep his feet chopping
when it gets clogged up. That's why his conversion rate
is very good. He also provides a third down presence
with good pass protection, receiving skills, and that short yard ability,
(08:19):
which again on those situational elements, which this Dolphins team
can put up four hundred yards pretty much anytime they
want to. Right like that, They're a consistently explosive offense.
But when they've had issues, it's been in situational football.
And I realize that a lot of these signings are
to me signal a cure towards third and short, towards
(08:41):
red zone, towards the critical eight or twelve plays over
the course of a sixty minute game that decide the
winner or decide you know, the massive points swings, and
the cumulative result of those moments is what decides the
winner in the games. And look, I know it wasn't
a great run for Zach Wilson with the Jets, but
you can't tell me the quarterback rooms not vastly improved
(09:03):
with him in it. Now. It's a low bar because
last year's quarterback, besides Tua, was not a NFL caliber,
But Zach Wilson, I think, is a little bit over
that that threshold, that line of demarcation. Ryan Stonehouse is
a weapon already burns his tape intrigues the hell out
of me. But of course that's the injury aspect to
that to him as well, which makes you know, for
(09:25):
a low risk, high reward potential. And since you've got
some clear fits and starters from this group, you invest
a couple of players like that, and if you hit
on two or even one of them, then you feel
like you've got a pretty good class because you've you've
got two like surefire starters, you've got four or five
role guys that give you critical important snaps every Sunday.
And oh, by the way, we hit on ifimlafon Wu in,
(09:48):
you know, and maybe Zach Wilson like cool. Now we've
got like a four or five guys that can play.
And we've got those four or five role players. Now
we can go into the draft and get some more
cornerstones for the future. So I think you can extrapolate
the those thoughts and say, here's collectively some takeaways and
things the Miami Dolphins got better at in this free
agency class, starting with the running game. And if you
(10:09):
guys listen to the film recap pods last year, and
I guess just the general sentiment about Devon a Chan,
you know, that I don't think that the role that
he played last year suits what he does best. I
think there's vision issues. I think there's take what's there,
you know, the maturity of just taking the yards that
are there. I think there's severe pass protection issues, and
(10:30):
all of those things combined to me says that Jalen
Wright should get more run and that a Chan should
get more antillary snaps on the perimeter as a receiver.
But I do think that the plan is for Jay
Dubbs to kind of be that physical presence alongside a
Chan and that kind of thunder to Devon's lightning, which
you know, and Jalen's got no slouch. He's no slouch
in the speed department either, But I think you have
to find a good way to kind of, you know,
(10:53):
combine those two elements to make the ultimate, you know,
one two punch. And you think about j dub as
a kind of tones that are a physical back, which
yet I think he is. With bigger body acquisitions like
James Daniels three twenty seven, like Larry Boram three thirty five,
who only add to your sheer mass while maintaining your
athletic ability on the offensive line, shoot you got better
(11:14):
than what you were a year ago because Liam and
Rob weren't as big as those two guys. And that's
assuming that Borham even starts, which I don't think he will.
I hope he's not. That's not the plan. But if
you have those two guys in for Liam and for
Rob Jones, you're vastly more athletic, and you're bigger. I
(11:36):
think that makes you more amenable amenable now to the
various run schemes. Aside from just running the ball to
the perimeter and trying to outskied scheme teams with some
of those outside runs, I think the ability to line
up on third and one when everyone knows the dive
is coming and you can still grind out two yards,
I would feel better about that. And this is getting
really inside baseball and probably shouldn't even say this, but
(11:58):
there was a report that Dolphins moved off of their
head of analytics, and if you go to his blog
and look at some of the core philosophies, it was
that third and one is actually a better shotgun. Is
better to be out a shotgun than it is line
up under center, which I get the concept of it,
but I think you got to change that philosophy and
(12:19):
be able to smash mouth and play more downhill football.
Not to mention, continuing that point, there were things on
Nick westbrook Akine and Faroal Brown's tape that I think
really opens up your run game menu but doesn't take
away from your ability to threaten with the passing game.
By having them on the field again, especially down the
red zone, I think your offensive personnel grouping has become
(12:39):
much more expansive and unpredictable, and those two things have
been kind of one thing holding you back at various
points offensively. When you've got when we got our quarterback
out there, we move the ball, we score points. But
the short yardage stuff and then the occasional bad red
zone game. If you just improve your proficiency, there a
little tiny bit that can be the difference in you know,
(13:00):
a game several points a game, wins and losses, and
with short yardage. The same story on defense, As you
maintain possessions longer and help those guys out, it's just
a ripple effect that makes your entire team better. Defensively,
I thought it was very important to get faster, more explosive,
more athletic, getting JP and Beechub helps that as much
as anybody can, but melafon Wu really exemplifies that. Again,
(13:21):
if you can ever stay healthy, which I'm not going
to bet on. Artie Burns is a crapshoot, but he
also satisfies that with length and athletic ability. I also
thought they had to get a lot meaner and tougher,
and I think kJ Britt brings that in the same
way that Daniels and Brown and Westbrook Akine and Pharaoh
Brown do on offense. And that was before Willie Gay arrived,
just one of the best pure athletes in the game.
And then there are a lot of options in this
(13:43):
draft that do all this too, but we'll save that
for later on. But yeah, man, getting getting Gay and
Britt and having them in that chair across from me
on drive time, like you can feel it. You can
feel the impact there. So that's sort of the ten
thousand foot view of the class. And I think this
team got better. And then let's go ahead and round
(14:03):
it out with what I will call each player's calling
card and their flaw, and we'll do that in the
next segment here we'll get to more draft stuff where
the team got better, where they got worse. We'll take
a look at the color coding roster board once again.
All of that next here on the Draft Time podcast,
your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by AutoNation.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Comprehensive free agent review in the books.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Let's go ahead and talk about each individual and kind
of get you a recap here. Now, I've watched a
lot of tape on all these guys, so over the
last two weeks of podcasts, this has all been said.
So if you're an everyday listener, just kind of a refresher.
For those that are new to the show, go back
and check those podcasts out as well. And let's go
ahead and just kind of go in order here of
how I like these sightings. Number one James Daniels. Actually
(14:45):
that's not true. I put a few of them up top,
but this kind of it gets wonky after the first three.
Just FYI, James Daniels opens up the run game menu,
improves your offensive line communication, adds an element of nasty
an elite athlete who gives us legit center option in
the events of happens to Aaron Brewer, which this team
has not had ever under Mike McDaniel's always been Connor
Williams or Aaron Brewer and then bust. Now, the downside
(15:08):
coming off a major injury is the only downside for
me with James Daniels.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
This guy is an absolute stud.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Willie Gay Junior, the modern day linebacker Mold gives you
two guys that are both so adept at being amenable
to personnel changes in versatility. The temperament is freaking awesome.
He loves football, It's all he cares about. I think
the way he creates even more flexibility in your rush
and sim pressure packages is absolutely ideal. He is my
favorite fit on that side of the ball and my
(15:34):
favorite acquisition beyond James Daniels. Now, he has been known
to have a missed assignment that produces a big play. Again,
we covered that on his film study podcast last week.
Safety i Fatu melifon Wu is a three level defender
with elite pass rushing.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Ability as a defensive back.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
His instinct on the back end to make game changing
plays and mask the defensive call until the ball is
snapped are absolutely positives in his game is the tape
is great, but he's available half the time. Thirty seven
games in four years. That's two out of four seasons,
hopefully that changes, but to expect anything different is kind
of silly, right Laman Larry Borum playing in space, whether
(16:12):
it's at guard or tackle, the way he can reach
a nine technique as a tackle or a five technique
as a guard, that fit seems obviously clear to me.
Now the downside is when he's in true pass protection
reps at tackle, it's not good, to put it politely,
it's better at guard, but not great. But if you
have one of those in your offensive line, if you
have one deficiency in your pass pro you can usually
(16:36):
cover that with guys around him. And you know, I
keep seeing this stuff about like the Dolphins are and
search for a left tackle, like, no, they're not. Patrick
Paul's a left tackle if t Stead's not back, so
go ahead and put a just scratch that off the
list right away. But that with the concept that no
scheme and there's some fans that do not want to
hear this, but it's the truth. No scheme mitigates that
(16:57):
as much as this one does. And so please don't
take that as me saying it's completely irrelevant. I'm not
saying that you can be me. Travis Wingfield plass blocking
and makes the offense okay. But every time we've gone
down multiple scores, you see that show up, and that's
when those games get really ugly.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
Right.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
It's why we don't just lose, we get blown out
of the water. In my opinion, That and going for
every fourth down against offenses like Buffalo when you're behind
and on short fields like it just all accumulates into
these forty eight to twenty scores that you get in
these big time games. But if you ignore the way
the scheme helps, I think you're also short changing this
discussion the way you'd call me out for saying his
(17:33):
pass blocking is entirely irrelevant, which again I'm not. So
that's the downside, but there is some hope that with
how you can maybe mitigate that downside of his game
through what you do best and your quarterback's biggest strength,
quarterback Zach Wilson.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
It's the upside, right, the growth with the Broncos.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
I think if it was a tangible thing, if you
get more of that, if you get him in a
system that accentuates his skills, then you might have something
to play with here, and not just for a backup
this year, maybe a long term solution you know down
the road. Literally haven't seen it. That's the downside. The
downside is the tape with the Jets when he played
regular season football was abhorrent. It was terrible football. We
(18:08):
have to see it before we believe it. First, right
wide receiver Nick Westbrook aikine. I think it's the combination
of being able to get vertical as a route runner
but also run you over if you don't buckle your
chin strap in the running game. And that's before we
even get to some of the asks of him in
the running game. You can copy and paste some of
the stuff you did with Julian Hill, which changes your
personnel grouping right and who the defense has to match
(18:29):
that with. They have to go cornerback over linebacker because
you can't put freakin' Who's a good example, You can't
put Terrell Bernard from the Buffalo Bills on Nick Westbrook
aa kinne win that matchup. You could if it was
Julian Hill and be totally fine with it. And then
I also love his attention to detail as a route runner.
I'm just a big fan of his game. The downside,
(18:50):
he's not insanely explosive or dangerous as a runner with
the football, but for three million dollars a year, I
am more than okay with those concessions. Safety Ashton Davis.
The ball production and range in the post stands out
eight interceptions on one thousand and fifty snaps. I mean
that's eight interceptions in a full season of starting football.
But he hasn't been able to do that because the
rest of his game hasn't been good enough. And that's
(19:11):
the downside is the closer he gets to the line
of scrimmage in coverage or against the run, the more
I feel he gets stuck. And I don't think is
a great tackler either. Linebacker kJ Britt is a B
gap to B gap patrol man with attitude, a preparation
plan that gives him a leg up on most snaps,
and I think can rub off on the players around
him in a very positive way. The downside, he's very
(19:31):
limited in coverage and as a blitzer, so he is
a kind of a one trick type of pony. Running
Back Alexander Madison's balanced through contact to generate linear yardge
accumulation layah. That's a mcdanielism for those keeping score at home,
And I think his best traits are his ability to
turn stalemate blocks into positive yards and then his ability
to hammer on short yardage, combined with the pass protection
(19:54):
and receiving skill sets to be an option on third downs,
especially third and three or less. Like I think about
the possible ability of having him and a Chan in
the game on third down, giving the defense a two
back set, which impacts how they call their defense, and
then a Chan flexes out and who the hell knows
if you're going to run a pass play with three
sub four to four receivers or a two hundred and
(20:14):
twenty pounds back up the a gap, who's going to
be tough to get to the ground. The downside, he's
limited athletically and he's not really special in one particular area.
He's just kind of a guy, which is why you
have him as a third number three back tight end.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Pharaoh Brown.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
I think that his goal of being the best why
blocking tight end in the league is incredibly attainable. You
can you can't watch his tape and come away with
anything other than WHOA that was impressive? Like he is
a people mover and an exceptional exceptional pass blocking tight end.
I am curious to see him in camp because the
twenty twenty three receiving was good enough. In twenty four
(20:48):
I didn't think it was I just thought he was
limited athletically.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
But that's a few more. There's a few more of
those guys now right.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
Seems like they are kind of rounding out a team
that already had premier athletes all over the field with
more kind of ass kickers. Ryan Stonehouse booming league leg
led the league in punting distance twice, gets it out
pretty quick as well. The downside, I don't have concerns.
I think it's his directional kicking, hangtime. I think all
that stuff is a farce. We have one of the
best punters in the NFL, that's my takeaway. And then
(21:15):
cornerback already burns the length to press up and play
any of the three corner positions, impress, but also process
from off coverage. That versatility is what drives this defense.
So it's a low risk, high reward hopefully. I like
the tape, not as much as like Mela Fanoo's tape,
but he also hasn't played more than three hundred snap
since twenty eighteen, so this is a very very long shot.
(21:36):
What still needs to be done on this team. They
have to round out the defensive line rotation. But I
think you're seeing kind of the emphasis on the edge
group and how that kind of funnels the defense more.
And the linebacker position, where the defensive tackle spot you
have one player like Zach Seeler, and then the bill
last ye was kind of thinking Harris Gallimore, all those
guys that didn't make the team. It wound up being
(21:56):
Benito in hand and Kalaeis. I think you try to
get Kalayis back is hard as you can, but Nita
comes back obviously, but you're probably still looking at the
first or second round there to find a defensive tackle
in this group. And like Kenneth, Grant just basically makes
it all good. Make an offensive line move that bumps
everybody down, so a starter. I guess to to sign
a left guard would be one of my things. I
think Will Hernandez makes a bunch of sense there. Identify
(22:18):
a legit number two cornerback. I don't think that there's
anybody here, though I might, you know, that might wind
up being the approach, and I you know, hopefully that
cam or Storm or Ethan emerges, but I don't like
that idea so much, I think you need another safety.
I don't think that Davis is a starter, and you
can't count on Iffy. This is a great year to
get a contributing safety on day two, maybe early day three,
(22:41):
a Billy Bowman, a Lathan Ransom, or even in the
first round with you know, Malachai Starks or Nicky Man worry.
Hell if you got Iman Worried to go with Iffy
Brooks and Willie Gay my gosh.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
And that's pretty much it.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
I mean, maybe you know offensive line depth right on
the defensive line rotation, a number two cornerback, another safety.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
I feel pretty good about that. Let's go ahead and
pick it.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
Up here and talk about where this team is better
and where this team is worse. We'll do that next
as well as my overall roster color coordination board on
the Draft Time podcast. Your host Travis Wingfield brought to
you by autoonation. So you're probably wondering, Hey, Travis, where
are we better and where are we worse? We'll I'll
go ahead and tell you about it right now. So
(23:21):
the quarterback room better. I think Zach Wilson is way
better than anything we had last year by a long shot.
Even though I don't think it's a good player per se.
I think it's a huge upgrade over what you had.
More of an indictment on the twenty twenty four room
than a positive thing about the twenty twenty five room.
But there is something they didn't have last couple of years,
and that is upside In the quarterback room and running back,
(23:41):
it's worse. I think going from Raheem Moster to Alexander
Madison's a downgrade. But also you got to think about
that position being more role based now in the event
of an injury. I do wish we did have Heam
available as a possible number one to step in there,
but I don't think he was going to be content
as a guy waiting for an injury to get his reps.
So I think we're a little bit worse there. We'll
see what happens in the draft. At receiver better, I mean,
(24:04):
we need Reagan Waddle to be Reagan Waddle again, because
you know that's what makes this off makes this offense work, right.
But Nick Westbrook Akine is the best number three we've
had in the Mike McDaniel era. And if you want
to say Travish, you were way wrong about OBJ and
can't be trusted there.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
That's fair.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
That was a big miss I had last year. Plus,
Malik Washington is now pro ready, whereas last year it
took him about half the year to get involved. Tight end,
Faraoh Brown is a much better player than Durham smyth.
I doubt we're done at the position, but that's that's
a huge upgrade. Much better off there, offensive line better,
James Daniels is significantly There's a guy in the beat
(24:41):
that says that it's on an upgrade. I don't know
what he's doing, but James Daniels is a significantly better
guard than what we've had the last year. I mean,
and also left guard post Isaiah win injury in twenty
twenty three. Tron Armstead for Paul is likely to be
a regression. But if Paul takes a step in play
seventeen games, that could be a wash because seventeen games
(25:02):
of good tackle play versus twelve or thirteen games of
really good tackle play to me is about the same.
I think Larry borum Is as a guard is better
than last year's starters as well, by a decent margin.
Two And again I highly doubt we're done there, but
the offensive line is better today than it was in
December of twenty twenty four. Defensive tackle worse, but if
Kalayas Campbell comes back, it's basically a wash. I do
(25:24):
think this position will get a high draft pick and
possibly a double dip if not bringing back Kalayis as
one of the answers there as well. So we're at
defensive tackle and running back is worse. Quarterback receiver, tight end,
offensive lines better, the edge is significantly better. It was
hard to get worse because last year the injuries deeply
did that key spot healthy Jalen Phillips and Bradley Chubb.
(25:44):
Chopp is now pro ready and ready to be a
freaking monster this year. Grayson Murphy coming back, Mo Kamara
may be ready to contribute next year. I think one
of those two guys will give you positive play in
twenty twenty five. It's just kind of how I feel
about the law of averages and two guys whose tapes
I liked. We're talking about adding two starters, quality starters
at that point in place of Ogba and Tyas Bowser.
(26:04):
I think that you've successfully achieved all those things at linebacker.
So much better, Probably the biggest upgrade on the entire roster,
maybe the best linebacker room in the league. It was
better before wille Gay got here. Now you just added
a quality starter on top of that. Tindall bumps back
to maybe a fringe roster guy. I mean, you're four
deep here. I love this position group. At cornerback it's worse.
(26:25):
You have to find a Kendall Fuller. I imagine we're
looking at a pretty high draft pick here. I think
Judaea Barron from Texas is an instant starter. I think
Savon Revel from ECU is an instant starter. I think
Will Johnson would be in that category as well. But
I am worried about hoping it's one of the incumbents
taking that number two job. I don't trust the idea
of like let's just see what happens with Cam Smith,
(26:45):
Storm Duck and Ethan Bonner. It just it has to
improve upon that. You can't go into the draft or
into the training camp with that philosophy. At safety, it's
better now. Not that I think that we're great there
or that it's set, but that was the worst say
you play in the entire NFL last year. Names aside
I think Jordan Poyer was legit one of the worst
players in football. I lost track of all the missed
(27:07):
assignments and miss tackles by Javon Holland, so you know,
there was one splash play all year long. So I
think we're better at safety, even though it's not. It's
kind of like the the quarterback room. It's like, yeah,
it was more of an indictment on the twenty twenty four,
so there's still weren't to be done. What it means
for the draft, I think you could be looking at
a double dip at defensive tackle, possibly unless Kalais comes back,
(27:28):
which is still very much a possibility. Cornerback I think
early makes a ton of sense here, and we'll see
it depends if they feel the same way I do
about Cam and Duck and Bond of those guys. I
think linebacker is off the board entirely now. I think
offensive line will be a draft pick somewhere in the
first four rounds. What that means for me in my
(27:48):
short list for pick number thirteen, I'm down to I
think four guys right now. I really just don't see
offensive line providing the value in the first round because
of what I think will be on the board, and
but I think we'll be on the board otherwise outside
of the offensive line. So I've basically got down to
four guys right now. You guys know how I feel
about Tyler Warren. I think that he is the cream
(28:09):
of the crop in the class. I think he's a
guy that is a force multiplier that changes all three
elements of your offense if you get him, I would
take him there if he's there. Johnny Barron from Texas
is a Brian Branch clone, and I think if you
READID the draft back in twenty twenty one, Brian Branch
would go in the top fifteen much like Kyle Hamilton did.
He can play in your slot. I think he's going
(28:30):
to play outside. I think he can be part of
your two safety packages and split field and be able
to rob and do multiple things as a pass rusher.
I like his game a heck of a lot. I
think he'll be gone by pick thirteen. Kenneth Grant is
a three down Dexter Lawrence clone in my opinion, with
great hustle and athletic ability. At three hundred and forty
possibly three hundred and fifty pounds. I think that if
(28:50):
you just drop him into this defense, you're pretty much
done in the front seven. And then Malachi Starks. I
do think there was a bit of draft like fatigue
with him where everyone got critical of his game after things,
you know, after a junior season that was really good,
and then by his senior year or maybe I'm talking
about sophomore in junior year, but he just kind of
got like draft fatigue by people, and here's this great
(29:11):
player who should go off the board, the top fifteen
picks that could be there for you.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
He would solve so many issues at the safety position.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
But I also love, like, you know, Derek Harmon at
pick forty eight, he's not going to be there. I
like Alfred Collins at pick forty eight at the defensive
tackle spot. If you can't get Kenneth Grant. I also
like CJ. West and Jamari Caldwell. On Day three, I'm
going to be doing a whole bunch of these, you know,
talking about the defensive tackle position, you know, the position
of need and the group of players that are going
to be available in the draft, but talking about the
(29:41):
sense of a needs based draft, Like right now, it's
defensive tackle, cornerback, O line and safety right. And so
with your first four picks, you know, here's four options
for you. Kenneth Grant, Savon Ravel the cornerback from ECU,
Lathan Ransom, the Ohio State safety, a kind of intimidator,
a patrol on defense in the middle of the field,
(30:01):
a big hitter, and then Jackson Slater, the Sacramento State
guard who fits the offensive system quite well. Option two
Johnny Barron from Texas the do it all slot corner
safety combination. Alfred Collins the defensive tackle from Texas who
I think is a Kalayis Campbell potential fit at the
next level. And then Zach or Miles Frasier I should say,
the offensive line from from LSU in the third round.
(30:24):
And then Billy Bowman, the safety from Oklahoma who can
play some cornerback as well as your fourth round pick.
Or you go Malachi Starks to get the safety off
the board early. Gray's Abel your flex left guard there
who can play all three interior spots. In the second round.
He's a Day one starter at left guard in my opinion.
Jacob Perish, the cornerback from Kansas State who can be
your slot guy as well, who can play all three
spots and then C. J. West the defensive tackle on
(30:46):
the back end, or maybe in the first round you
go with Will Campbell, the LSU guy that falls to
the to the to the pick to pick thirteen, nick
Eman Worry, the safety from NC State, maybe he falls
to pick forty eight, and then you come back with
Darius Alexander, the defend to tackle from Toledo, and Kobe Bryant,
a very good cover corner who doesn't tackle all that well,
in the fourth round at cornerback. So that's some possible
(31:07):
options there that I like, and that leads me before
the draft the free agent recap here with the following
color coordination board.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
You all ready for this? You all ready for this?
Speaker 1 (31:17):
But no, no, no, okay quarterback, I remember the colors
are Blue is cornerstone, Green is plus starter, Orange is
quality starter, and then we get to the not so great.
Purple is quality depth or special teams, Pink is replacement level,
red is camp body, and then black is unknown incomplete injuries,
(31:39):
whatever it might be. So Blue, green, orange, purple, pink, red, black,
good okay quarterback to a Tungueoai low a cornerstone player
for me, Blue quarterback I don't think you're gonna upgrade
on him unless you trade for Josh Allen, Patrick mahomes
Lamar Jackson, and if those guys are available, great, go
do it. I have Zach Wilson as replacement level. I
do think there's potential to go higher than that. We
(32:00):
haven't seen it so right now, he's a pink player
at running back. I have Devon ah Chan in the
Green category plus starter. I have Jaln Wright in the
Orange category as a quality starter. I think that's a projection.
I think he'll it is a projection. I think he's
gonna have a good year and kind of get himself
in the good graces. I have Madison as a pink
replacement player, and then ingold is depth and special teams
(32:21):
because it's kind of what the fullback is right. I
still have two cornerstone wide receivers despite what happened last year,
Tyreek Hill Angelen Waddle both are blue players. I have
Nick Westbrook, a Knean orange player, as a quality starter.
And then I have two quality depth guys I'm a
League Washington and d S Gridge. I have a replacement
or rather a camp body and Eric Azukama and then
Taj Washington and Tarique Black are both in the black
(32:43):
category unknown At tight end, I have John hus Smith
in the green category as a plus starter my tight end,
Pharaoh Brown is quality depth. In the purple category, Julian
Hill is replacement level, and then Tanner O'Connor and Hayden
Rouchie are both camp bodies. At tackle, I have Patrick
Paul as a quality star. I think he's gonna make
that jump this year and be a good player for you.
I have Austin Jackson as a plus starter in the
(33:05):
green category, and then Keon Smith is black because I
don't know, you know where he's gonna wind up with
the injuries. And then I have Braden Daniels, Jackson Carmen
and Ryan Hayes in the red camp body category, and
then Armstead is just an unknown hanging out there still
on defense. On the defensive line, I have Zach Seeler
as a blue player, a cornerstone player. I have Benito
(33:25):
Jones as quality depth, and then Matthew Dickerson and Neil
Ferrell as red camp bodies. Off the edge, I have
two plus starters in Jalen Phillips and Chop Robinson. I
knocked Bradley Chubb down to the orange category as the
quality starter. We'll see what he looks like coming off
the injury. And I have four players that are in
the purple category for quality depth, Quentin Bell, Mo Kamara,
(33:45):
Cam Good and Grayson Murphy, and then William Bradley King
is in the red camp body category. At linebackers green
two players Jordan Brooks and Willie Gay Jr. I have
Tyrrel Dotson as a quality starter in the orange category.
kJ Britt is purple quality depth, and then two red
players and Chang Tyndall and Dakwan Jackson. At cornerback, Ramsey
(34:05):
still a cornerstone player for me.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
He's blue. Cater Coho is.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
Orange quality starter, and then Ardi Burns his quality depth
in the purple category. I have Cam Smith, Ethan Bonner
and Storm Duck in the red category as camp bodies.
Speaker 2 (34:19):
I just am not seeing it.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
And then that's the same for Bump Cooper, and then
I have Isaiah Johnson and Jason Matrie and the black
uncertain we don't know what they are category. At safety,
I have Iffy Mela fon Wum as a plus starter.
He's green, He's a great player. He just doesn't stay healthy.
Then I have two purple players, and Elijah Campbell and
Patrick McMorris, and then I have Ashton Davis as a
pink replacement level player, and Jordan Colbert is red as
(34:43):
I can't buy.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
So there you go.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
There's your roster evaluation, post free agency, some draft thoughts.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
We'll have more.
Speaker 1 (34:48):
Content coming away over the next month, including guests, scouting
reports on these players, all kinds of fun stuff here
on the Draft Time Podcast. In the meantime, you all
please be sure subscribe, rate review, follow me on soul
at week for NFL the team at Miami Dolphins. Check
out the Fish Tank Podcast with Seth and Juice, the
YouTube channel for Dolphins HQ, Draft Time interviews, media availabilities,
(35:09):
and so much more, and last but not least, Miami
Dolphins dot Com. Until next time, fins Up, Carolina, Cameron Daddy,
He's coming home.
What is up Dolphins, And welcome to the Draft Time Podcast.
I am your host, Travis Winfield, And on today's show,
I am fired up because we are breaking the format
of the previous two weeks. Here on the show, we're
talking all things roster evaluation, where things stand following the
first couple of waves of free agency, with an eye
(00:30):
towards the draft. Kind of a comprehensive look behind and
look ahead on this edition of the podcast from the
Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
This is the Draft Time Podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
So as free agency has wound down rather significantly, we
are well past the first phase obviously, and maybe even
past the second phase entering the third one here and
the Dolphins kind of showed you their plan through their action.
In my opinion, Let's spend mid market money on a
on one guy really and then kind of go roll
(01:07):
shopping the rest of the way. That player, of course,
being James Daniels, the very very good guard, and that
right there, I think signals something of a change in
terms of philosophy because of the past thought that eight
million dollars for a guard was just something you would
not see in not just this offensive system, but the
other offensive systems across the league the share our core philosophies,
(01:31):
and I do think they looked at James and said,
this guy is probably closer to a fifteen million dollar player.
I mean, he's a better player than Aaron Banks and
it's not even close to my opinion. And because of
his injury situation last year, we can capitalize and get
him a massive reduction of the cost. Which that's not
a shift in organizational philosophy, because that has clearly been
(01:52):
the mo of Chris Greer, who has told you in
the past, like this league in sport has an injury
rate of one hundred percent, and so I don't think
they factor that as much as other teams do, for
better or worse.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
More on that in a moment.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
We're not going to just make this a two minute podcast,
but in the interest of sort of following essay style storytelling,
assert your point, prove your point, reassert your point, get out,
I think the best way to sort of blanket describe
the Dolphins free agency class was one of prudence. We
had Daniel Jeremiah, the Bootleg guys EJ and Brett on
(02:25):
the show. We've discussed major talking points from our talking
points rather from major podcast and what was the prevailing
thought about this year's class that it was lacking real
firepower up at the top. And by the time the
new league year even started, reported signings were flooding in
and re signings and has essentially wiped out more than
half of the nfl dot Com Top one oh one
(02:47):
free agents before the new league year even started. I mean,
we saw players who have been relatively middle of the
pack among their position in terms of production cash in
in the top of the mark deals. And that's that's
what has happened in the past. And it used to
be like really quality talent that would go towards like
the top of the market. Now you're starting to see
(03:09):
like adequate starters get cornerstone money. It's it's kind of crazy,
you know. James Daniels was the marquee signing right we
went over this last year. Free agency really should be
viewed in the same prism of the draft. You're never
going to bat a thousand, but the Dolphins hit on
the multi year guys, the Jordan Brooks, the John new Smith,
the Aaron Brewer. Where you had some one year guys
(03:30):
like Jonathan Harris, Neville Gallimore, Jack Driscoll that didn't make
the team, and you have to approach it accordingly. And
a lot of these contracts the Dolphins signed to one
year deals probably aren't going to work out. But as
long as you hit on the ones you invest in,
you get your own internally evaluations right, and you draft well,
you can afford to spend, you know, or go acquire
ten free agent contracts that are one year deals, and
(03:53):
if half of them work out, then you can re
you know, re up them, and that's great, But that's
a departure from my point. My point is that I
feel like James Daniel was a really good value get
for the Dolphins. I think he's a perfect scheme fit
that perfectly compliments Aaron Brewer and improves the run game
and makes your entire protection scheme better because of his
intelligence and his skill set. You signed Daniels to be
(04:13):
a starter. That's the too long, didn't read version rate there.
I think that applies to Willy Gay too. I mean, explosive,
can beat blocks in multiple ways. Plays with this temperament
and fire gives you two incredibly athletic modern day linebackers
who are capable of playing twenty yards downfield and coverage
or rushing the quarterback, and the value that provides in
(04:36):
this defense that is built around that that has seen
the Baltimore Ravens, which is the kind of offshoot of
this defense, right build their linebacker corps around two All
pros R two guys and Patrick Queen and Rokwan Smith
that are thought of as top ten players to their position.
I think Miami's right in that frame of mind now,
although Willie Gay's more of a projection in terms of
(04:57):
how he fits in this defense. But well, I feel
confident I'll be proven right in that. Outside of that,
to me, it was pretty role based, and you could
even say Willy Gay was role based too, because you
kind of filled the linebacker room out with guys that
have specific traits and skills. I think I probably think
higher of Willy Gay than most pundits out there. I
just think the athletic ability, explosion, temperament, play style, and
(05:18):
modern skill set is really going to click for this
defense and really take off in what he's asked to do.
But talk about the role based approach, we talked about
finding ways to be better off the edge blocking in
the running game. Pharaoh Brown and Nick Westbrook Akine are
two of the best blockers at their position in the
entire league. I mean it's Farroh. Brown is an extra
(05:39):
offensive lineman that can catch the football, and Nick Westbrook
Akine is a guy that can really expand what you
do in situational football down the red zone, third and short.
He can make your personnel groupings flexible because of his
ability to attach and block or beat one on one coverage.
Not a lot of guys that are number two and
three cornerbacks in this league I think can handle westbrook
(05:59):
a Kine all on their own. He's a very crafty
route runner and a big body and a good catch
radius and good strong hands. We talked about getting more
athletic on defense. You know, if he melafon Wu is
a modern day chess piece and Ashton Davis has really
good range in the back end, will he click here
and make an impact.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
We'll see.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
But that is definitely the calling card of his game,
even if I don't think it's, you know, a proven
asset at this point, and with melafon Wu obviously he's
far from that, given the fact that he has missed
like half the career games. But I wrote that before
the Willie Gay signings, So yeah, go ahead and amplify
that ten times because Willie is, pound for pound, one
of the best athletes in the game.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
He's a dog. And between those.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Three guys, you've accomplished that in some form and fashion.
You needed to find someone for that. Anthony Walker based
down role with his departure to Tampa Bay, right, and
he was elevated into a role beyond that when David
Long flamed out kind of spectacularly. I mean, he went
from being a really good linebacker to a guy that
couldn't play anymore. And I don't know that he'll find
(06:59):
a team this year. So the plan almost kind of
changed right away on you. And that's the nature of
the league, right And with kJ Britt, obviously we'll have
you know, camp and plenty of things to track in
terms of who plays where and how much. But BRIT's
tape tells me that he can definitely be the enforcer
in the running game and a bit of a tone setter,
a temperature changer. He plays that style and there has
been you know, I've talked to all these guys except
(07:20):
for if he melafon.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Will And just for your guys.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
For transparency's sake, we didn't get Iffy on the show
because he just wasn't here when our content team was
ready for him.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
So that's why it didn't happen.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
There's no mysterya around that we just couldn't make it
happen with this schedule.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Back to this programming.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Here you watch Larry Borham's tape, and when there were struggles,
I thought they were largely things outside of the scope
of what the Dolphins would ask him to do schematically,
and the things they do emphasize schematically was where Larry's
best tape was. Again, because I get accused of this
all the time, I'm not sitting here saying this is
going to tell you this guy's going to be a
starting left guard and a great player. I can just
(07:56):
see the thought and the thinking and the fit. That's
all I'm telling you on that topic. Alexander Madison has
been pretty consistent his entire career and brings more of
that hammer mentality. And I just like the way he
can kind of push piles and keep his feet chopping
when it gets clogged up. That's why his conversion rate
is very good. He also provides a third down presence
with good pass protection, receiving skills, and that short yard ability,
(08:19):
which again on those situational elements, which this Dolphins team
can put up four hundred yards pretty much anytime they
want to. Right like that, They're a consistently explosive offense.
But when they've had issues, it's been in situational football.
And I realize that a lot of these signings are
to me signal a cure towards third and short, towards
(08:41):
red zone, towards the critical eight or twelve plays over
the course of a sixty minute game that decide the
winner or decide you know, the massive points swings, and
the cumulative result of those moments is what decides the
winner in the games. And look, I know it wasn't
a great run for Zach Wilson with the Jets, but
you can't tell me the quarterback rooms not vastly improved
(09:03):
with him in it. Now. It's a low bar because
last year's quarterback, besides Tua, was not a NFL caliber,
But Zach Wilson, I think, is a little bit over
that that threshold, that line of demarcation. Ryan Stonehouse is
a weapon already burns his tape intrigues the hell out
of me. But of course that's the injury aspect to
that to him as well, which makes you know, for
(09:25):
a low risk, high reward potential. And since you've got
some clear fits and starters from this group, you invest
a couple of players like that, and if you hit
on two or even one of them, then you feel
like you've got a pretty good class because you've you've
got two like surefire starters, you've got four or five
role guys that give you critical important snaps every Sunday.
And oh, by the way, we hit on ifimlafon Wu in,
(09:48):
you know, and maybe Zach Wilson like cool. Now we've
got like a four or five guys that can play.
And we've got those four or five role players. Now
we can go into the draft and get some more
cornerstones for the future. So I think you can extrapolate
the those thoughts and say, here's collectively some takeaways and
things the Miami Dolphins got better at in this free
agency class, starting with the running game. And if you
(10:09):
guys listen to the film recap pods last year, and
I guess just the general sentiment about Devon a Chan,
you know, that I don't think that the role that
he played last year suits what he does best. I
think there's vision issues. I think there's take what's there,
you know, the maturity of just taking the yards that
are there. I think there's severe pass protection issues, and
(10:30):
all of those things combined to me says that Jalen
Wright should get more run and that a Chan should
get more antillary snaps on the perimeter as a receiver.
But I do think that the plan is for Jay
Dubbs to kind of be that physical presence alongside a
Chan and that kind of thunder to Devon's lightning, which
you know, and Jalen's got no slouch. He's no slouch
in the speed department either, But I think you have
to find a good way to kind of, you know,
(10:53):
combine those two elements to make the ultimate, you know,
one two punch. And you think about j dub as
a kind of tones that are a physical back, which
yet I think he is. With bigger body acquisitions like
James Daniels three twenty seven, like Larry Boram three thirty five,
who only add to your sheer mass while maintaining your
athletic ability on the offensive line, shoot you got better
(11:14):
than what you were a year ago because Liam and
Rob weren't as big as those two guys. And that's
assuming that Borham even starts, which I don't think he will.
I hope he's not. That's not the plan. But if
you have those two guys in for Liam and for
Rob Jones, you're vastly more athletic, and you're bigger. I
(11:36):
think that makes you more amenable amenable now to the
various run schemes. Aside from just running the ball to
the perimeter and trying to outskied scheme teams with some
of those outside runs, I think the ability to line
up on third and one when everyone knows the dive
is coming and you can still grind out two yards,
I would feel better about that. And this is getting
really inside baseball and probably shouldn't even say this, but
(11:58):
there was a report that Dolphins moved off of their
head of analytics, and if you go to his blog
and look at some of the core philosophies, it was
that third and one is actually a better shotgun. Is
better to be out a shotgun than it is line
up under center, which I get the concept of it,
but I think you got to change that philosophy and
(12:19):
be able to smash mouth and play more downhill football.
Not to mention, continuing that point, there were things on
Nick westbrook Akine and Faroal Brown's tape that I think
really opens up your run game menu but doesn't take
away from your ability to threaten with the passing game.
By having them on the field again, especially down the
red zone, I think your offensive personnel grouping has become
(12:39):
much more expansive and unpredictable, and those two things have
been kind of one thing holding you back at various
points offensively. When you've got when we got our quarterback
out there, we move the ball, we score points. But
the short yardage stuff and then the occasional bad red
zone game. If you just improve your proficiency, there a
little tiny bit that can be the difference in you know,
(13:00):
a game several points a game, wins and losses, and
with short yardage. The same story on defense, As you
maintain possessions longer and help those guys out, it's just
a ripple effect that makes your entire team better. Defensively,
I thought it was very important to get faster, more explosive,
more athletic, getting JP and Beechub helps that as much
as anybody can, but melafon Wu really exemplifies that. Again,
(13:21):
if you can ever stay healthy, which I'm not going
to bet on. Artie Burns is a crapshoot, but he
also satisfies that with length and athletic ability. I also
thought they had to get a lot meaner and tougher,
and I think kJ Britt brings that in the same
way that Daniels and Brown and Westbrook Akine and Pharaoh
Brown do on offense. And that was before Willie Gay arrived,
just one of the best pure athletes in the game.
And then there are a lot of options in this
(13:43):
draft that do all this too, but we'll save that
for later on. But yeah, man, getting getting Gay and
Britt and having them in that chair across from me
on drive time, like you can feel it. You can
feel the impact there. So that's sort of the ten
thousand foot view of the class. And I think this
team got better. And then let's go ahead and round
(14:03):
it out with what I will call each player's calling
card and their flaw, and we'll do that in the
next segment here we'll get to more draft stuff where
the team got better, where they got worse. We'll take
a look at the color coding roster board once again.
All of that next here on the Draft Time podcast,
your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by AutoNation.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Comprehensive free agent review in the books.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Let's go ahead and talk about each individual and kind
of get you a recap here. Now, I've watched a
lot of tape on all these guys, so over the
last two weeks of podcasts, this has all been said.
So if you're an everyday listener, just kind of a refresher.
For those that are new to the show, go back
and check those podcasts out as well. And let's go
ahead and just kind of go in order here of
how I like these sightings. Number one James Daniels. Actually
(14:45):
that's not true. I put a few of them up top,
but this kind of it gets wonky after the first three.
Just FYI, James Daniels opens up the run game menu,
improves your offensive line communication, adds an element of nasty
an elite athlete who gives us legit center option in
the events of happens to Aaron Brewer, which this team
has not had ever under Mike McDaniel's always been Connor
Williams or Aaron Brewer and then bust. Now, the downside
(15:08):
coming off a major injury is the only downside for
me with James Daniels.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
This guy is an absolute stud.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Willie Gay Junior, the modern day linebacker Mold gives you
two guys that are both so adept at being amenable
to personnel changes in versatility. The temperament is freaking awesome.
He loves football, It's all he cares about. I think
the way he creates even more flexibility in your rush
and sim pressure packages is absolutely ideal. He is my
favorite fit on that side of the ball and my
(15:34):
favorite acquisition beyond James Daniels. Now, he has been known
to have a missed assignment that produces a big play. Again,
we covered that on his film study podcast last week.
Safety i Fatu melifon Wu is a three level defender
with elite pass rushing.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Ability as a defensive back.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
His instinct on the back end to make game changing
plays and mask the defensive call until the ball is
snapped are absolutely positives in his game is the tape
is great, but he's available half the time. Thirty seven
games in four years. That's two out of four seasons,
hopefully that changes, but to expect anything different is kind
of silly, right Laman Larry Borum playing in space, whether
(16:12):
it's at guard or tackle, the way he can reach
a nine technique as a tackle or a five technique
as a guard, that fit seems obviously clear to me.
Now the downside is when he's in true pass protection
reps at tackle, it's not good, to put it politely,
it's better at guard, but not great. But if you
have one of those in your offensive line, if you
have one deficiency in your pass pro you can usually
(16:36):
cover that with guys around him. And you know, I
keep seeing this stuff about like the Dolphins are and
search for a left tackle, like, no, they're not. Patrick
Paul's a left tackle if t Stead's not back, so
go ahead and put a just scratch that off the
list right away. But that with the concept that no
scheme and there's some fans that do not want to
hear this, but it's the truth. No scheme mitigates that
(16:57):
as much as this one does. And so please don't
take that as me saying it's completely irrelevant. I'm not
saying that you can be me. Travis Wingfield plass blocking
and makes the offense okay. But every time we've gone
down multiple scores, you see that show up, and that's
when those games get really ugly.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
Right.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
It's why we don't just lose, we get blown out
of the water. In my opinion, That and going for
every fourth down against offenses like Buffalo when you're behind
and on short fields like it just all accumulates into
these forty eight to twenty scores that you get in
these big time games. But if you ignore the way
the scheme helps, I think you're also short changing this
discussion the way you'd call me out for saying his
(17:33):
pass blocking is entirely irrelevant, which again I'm not. So
that's the downside, but there is some hope that with
how you can maybe mitigate that downside of his game
through what you do best and your quarterback's biggest strength,
quarterback Zach Wilson.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
It's the upside, right, the growth with the Broncos.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
I think if it was a tangible thing, if you
get more of that, if you get him in a
system that accentuates his skills, then you might have something
to play with here, and not just for a backup
this year, maybe a long term solution you know down
the road. Literally haven't seen it. That's the downside. The
downside is the tape with the Jets when he played
regular season football was abhorrent. It was terrible football. We
(18:08):
have to see it before we believe it. First, right
wide receiver Nick Westbrook aikine. I think it's the combination
of being able to get vertical as a route runner
but also run you over if you don't buckle your
chin strap in the running game. And that's before we
even get to some of the asks of him in
the running game. You can copy and paste some of
the stuff you did with Julian Hill, which changes your
personnel grouping right and who the defense has to match
(18:29):
that with. They have to go cornerback over linebacker because
you can't put freakin' Who's a good example, You can't
put Terrell Bernard from the Buffalo Bills on Nick Westbrook
aa kinne win that matchup. You could if it was
Julian Hill and be totally fine with it. And then
I also love his attention to detail as a route runner.
I'm just a big fan of his game. The downside,
(18:50):
he's not insanely explosive or dangerous as a runner with
the football, but for three million dollars a year, I
am more than okay with those concessions. Safety Ashton Davis.
The ball production and range in the post stands out
eight interceptions on one thousand and fifty snaps. I mean
that's eight interceptions in a full season of starting football.
But he hasn't been able to do that because the
rest of his game hasn't been good enough. And that's
(19:11):
the downside is the closer he gets to the line
of scrimmage in coverage or against the run, the more
I feel he gets stuck. And I don't think is
a great tackler either. Linebacker kJ Britt is a B
gap to B gap patrol man with attitude, a preparation
plan that gives him a leg up on most snaps,
and I think can rub off on the players around
him in a very positive way. The downside, he's very
(19:31):
limited in coverage and as a blitzer, so he is
a kind of a one trick type of pony. Running
Back Alexander Madison's balanced through contact to generate linear yardge
accumulation layah. That's a mcdanielism for those keeping score at home,
And I think his best traits are his ability to
turn stalemate blocks into positive yards and then his ability
to hammer on short yardage, combined with the pass protection
(19:54):
and receiving skill sets to be an option on third downs,
especially third and three or less. Like I think about
the possible ability of having him and a Chan in
the game on third down, giving the defense a two
back set, which impacts how they call their defense, and
then a Chan flexes out and who the hell knows
if you're going to run a pass play with three
sub four to four receivers or a two hundred and
(20:14):
twenty pounds back up the a gap, who's going to
be tough to get to the ground. The downside, he's
limited athletically and he's not really special in one particular area.
He's just kind of a guy, which is why you
have him as a third number three back tight end.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Pharaoh Brown.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
I think that his goal of being the best why
blocking tight end in the league is incredibly attainable. You
can you can't watch his tape and come away with
anything other than WHOA that was impressive? Like he is
a people mover and an exceptional exceptional pass blocking tight end.
I am curious to see him in camp because the
twenty twenty three receiving was good enough. In twenty four
(20:48):
I didn't think it was I just thought he was
limited athletically.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
But that's a few more. There's a few more of
those guys now right.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
Seems like they are kind of rounding out a team
that already had premier athletes all over the field with
more kind of ass kickers. Ryan Stonehouse booming league leg
led the league in punting distance twice, gets it out
pretty quick as well. The downside, I don't have concerns.
I think it's his directional kicking, hangtime. I think all
that stuff is a farce. We have one of the
best punters in the NFL, that's my takeaway. And then
(21:15):
cornerback already burns the length to press up and play
any of the three corner positions, impress, but also process
from off coverage. That versatility is what drives this defense.
So it's a low risk, high reward hopefully. I like
the tape, not as much as like Mela Fanoo's tape,
but he also hasn't played more than three hundred snap
since twenty eighteen, so this is a very very long shot.
(21:36):
What still needs to be done on this team. They
have to round out the defensive line rotation. But I
think you're seeing kind of the emphasis on the edge
group and how that kind of funnels the defense more.
And the linebacker position, where the defensive tackle spot you
have one player like Zach Seeler, and then the bill
last ye was kind of thinking Harris Gallimore, all those
guys that didn't make the team. It wound up being
(21:56):
Benito in hand and Kalaeis. I think you try to
get Kalayis back is hard as you can, but Nita
comes back obviously, but you're probably still looking at the
first or second round there to find a defensive tackle
in this group. And like Kenneth, Grant just basically makes
it all good. Make an offensive line move that bumps
everybody down, so a starter. I guess to to sign
a left guard would be one of my things. I
think Will Hernandez makes a bunch of sense there. Identify
(22:18):
a legit number two cornerback. I don't think that there's
anybody here, though I might, you know, that might wind
up being the approach, and I you know, hopefully that
cam or Storm or Ethan emerges, but I don't like
that idea so much, I think you need another safety.
I don't think that Davis is a starter, and you
can't count on Iffy. This is a great year to
get a contributing safety on day two, maybe early day three,
(22:41):
a Billy Bowman, a Lathan Ransom, or even in the
first round with you know, Malachai Starks or Nicky Man worry.
Hell if you got Iman Worried to go with Iffy
Brooks and Willie Gay my gosh.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
And that's pretty much it.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
I mean, maybe you know offensive line depth right on
the defensive line rotation, a number two cornerback, another safety.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
I feel pretty good about that. Let's go ahead and
pick it.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
Up here and talk about where this team is better
and where this team is worse. We'll do that next
as well as my overall roster color coordination board on
the Draft Time podcast. Your host Travis Wingfield brought to
you by autoonation. So you're probably wondering, Hey, Travis, where
are we better and where are we worse? We'll I'll
go ahead and tell you about it right now. So
(23:21):
the quarterback room better. I think Zach Wilson is way
better than anything we had last year by a long shot.
Even though I don't think it's a good player per se.
I think it's a huge upgrade over what you had.
More of an indictment on the twenty twenty four room
than a positive thing about the twenty twenty five room.
But there is something they didn't have last couple of years,
and that is upside In the quarterback room and running back,
(23:41):
it's worse. I think going from Raheem Moster to Alexander
Madison's a downgrade. But also you got to think about
that position being more role based now in the event
of an injury. I do wish we did have Heam
available as a possible number one to step in there,
but I don't think he was going to be content
as a guy waiting for an injury to get his reps.
So I think we're a little bit worse there. We'll
see what happens in the draft. At receiver better, I mean,
(24:04):
we need Reagan Waddle to be Reagan Waddle again, because
you know that's what makes this off makes this offense work, right.
But Nick Westbrook Akine is the best number three we've
had in the Mike McDaniel era. And if you want
to say Travish, you were way wrong about OBJ and
can't be trusted there.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
That's fair.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
That was a big miss I had last year. Plus,
Malik Washington is now pro ready, whereas last year it
took him about half the year to get involved. Tight end,
Faraoh Brown is a much better player than Durham smyth.
I doubt we're done at the position, but that's that's
a huge upgrade. Much better off there, offensive line better,
James Daniels is significantly There's a guy in the beat
(24:41):
that says that it's on an upgrade. I don't know
what he's doing, but James Daniels is a significantly better
guard than what we've had the last year. I mean,
and also left guard post Isaiah win injury in twenty
twenty three. Tron Armstead for Paul is likely to be
a regression. But if Paul takes a step in play
seventeen games, that could be a wash because seventeen games
(25:02):
of good tackle play versus twelve or thirteen games of
really good tackle play to me is about the same.
I think Larry borum Is as a guard is better
than last year's starters as well, by a decent margin.
Two And again I highly doubt we're done there, but
the offensive line is better today than it was in
December of twenty twenty four. Defensive tackle worse, but if
Kalayas Campbell comes back, it's basically a wash. I do
(25:24):
think this position will get a high draft pick and
possibly a double dip if not bringing back Kalayis as
one of the answers there as well. So we're at
defensive tackle and running back is worse. Quarterback receiver, tight end,
offensive lines better, the edge is significantly better. It was
hard to get worse because last year the injuries deeply
did that key spot healthy Jalen Phillips and Bradley Chubb.
(25:44):
Chopp is now pro ready and ready to be a
freaking monster this year. Grayson Murphy coming back, Mo Kamara
may be ready to contribute next year. I think one
of those two guys will give you positive play in
twenty twenty five. It's just kind of how I feel
about the law of averages and two guys whose tapes
I liked. We're talking about adding two starters, quality starters
at that point in place of Ogba and Tyas Bowser.
(26:04):
I think that you've successfully achieved all those things at linebacker.
So much better, Probably the biggest upgrade on the entire roster,
maybe the best linebacker room in the league. It was
better before wille Gay got here. Now you just added
a quality starter on top of that. Tindall bumps back
to maybe a fringe roster guy. I mean, you're four
deep here. I love this position group. At cornerback it's worse.
(26:25):
You have to find a Kendall Fuller. I imagine we're
looking at a pretty high draft pick here. I think
Judaea Barron from Texas is an instant starter. I think
Savon Revel from ECU is an instant starter. I think
Will Johnson would be in that category as well. But
I am worried about hoping it's one of the incumbents
taking that number two job. I don't trust the idea
of like let's just see what happens with Cam Smith,
(26:45):
Storm Duck and Ethan Bonner. It just it has to
improve upon that. You can't go into the draft or
into the training camp with that philosophy. At safety, it's
better now. Not that I think that we're great there
or that it's set, but that was the worst say
you play in the entire NFL last year. Names aside
I think Jordan Poyer was legit one of the worst
players in football. I lost track of all the missed
(27:07):
assignments and miss tackles by Javon Holland, so you know,
there was one splash play all year long. So I
think we're better at safety, even though it's not. It's
kind of like the the quarterback room. It's like, yeah,
it was more of an indictment on the twenty twenty four,
so there's still weren't to be done. What it means
for the draft, I think you could be looking at
a double dip at defensive tackle, possibly unless Kalais comes back,
(27:28):
which is still very much a possibility. Cornerback I think
early makes a ton of sense here, and we'll see
it depends if they feel the same way I do
about Cam and Duck and Bond of those guys. I
think linebacker is off the board entirely now. I think
offensive line will be a draft pick somewhere in the
first four rounds. What that means for me in my
(27:48):
short list for pick number thirteen, I'm down to I
think four guys right now. I really just don't see
offensive line providing the value in the first round because
of what I think will be on the board, and
but I think we'll be on the board otherwise outside
of the offensive line. So I've basically got down to
four guys right now. You guys know how I feel
about Tyler Warren. I think that he is the cream
(28:09):
of the crop in the class. I think he's a
guy that is a force multiplier that changes all three
elements of your offense if you get him, I would
take him there if he's there. Johnny Barron from Texas
is a Brian Branch clone, and I think if you
READID the draft back in twenty twenty one, Brian Branch
would go in the top fifteen much like Kyle Hamilton did.
He can play in your slot. I think he's going
(28:30):
to play outside. I think he can be part of
your two safety packages and split field and be able
to rob and do multiple things as a pass rusher.
I like his game a heck of a lot. I
think he'll be gone by pick thirteen. Kenneth Grant is
a three down Dexter Lawrence clone in my opinion, with
great hustle and athletic ability. At three hundred and forty
possibly three hundred and fifty pounds. I think that if
(28:50):
you just drop him into this defense, you're pretty much
done in the front seven. And then Malachi Starks. I
do think there was a bit of draft like fatigue
with him where everyone got critical of his game after things,
you know, after a junior season that was really good,
and then by his senior year or maybe I'm talking
about sophomore in junior year, but he just kind of
got like draft fatigue by people, and here's this great
(29:11):
player who should go off the board, the top fifteen
picks that could be there for you.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
He would solve so many issues at the safety position.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
But I also love, like, you know, Derek Harmon at
pick forty eight, he's not going to be there. I
like Alfred Collins at pick forty eight at the defensive
tackle spot. If you can't get Kenneth Grant. I also
like CJ. West and Jamari Caldwell. On Day three, I'm
going to be doing a whole bunch of these, you know,
talking about the defensive tackle position, you know, the position
of need and the group of players that are going
to be available in the draft, but talking about the
(29:41):
sense of a needs based draft, Like right now, it's
defensive tackle, cornerback, O line and safety right. And so
with your first four picks, you know, here's four options
for you. Kenneth Grant, Savon Ravel the cornerback from ECU,
Lathan Ransom, the Ohio State safety, a kind of intimidator,
a patrol on defense in the middle of the field,
(30:01):
a big hitter, and then Jackson Slater, the Sacramento State
guard who fits the offensive system quite well. Option two
Johnny Barron from Texas the do it all slot corner
safety combination. Alfred Collins the defensive tackle from Texas who
I think is a Kalayis Campbell potential fit at the
next level. And then Zach or Miles Frasier I should say,
the offensive line from from LSU in the third round.
(30:24):
And then Billy Bowman, the safety from Oklahoma who can
play some cornerback as well as your fourth round pick.
Or you go Malachi Starks to get the safety off
the board early. Gray's Abel your flex left guard there
who can play all three interior spots. In the second round.
He's a Day one starter at left guard in my opinion.
Jacob Perish, the cornerback from Kansas State who can be
your slot guy as well, who can play all three
spots and then C. J. West the defensive tackle on
(30:46):
the back end, or maybe in the first round you
go with Will Campbell, the LSU guy that falls to
the to the to the pick to pick thirteen, nick
Eman Worry, the safety from NC State, maybe he falls
to pick forty eight, and then you come back with
Darius Alexander, the defend to tackle from Toledo, and Kobe Bryant,
a very good cover corner who doesn't tackle all that well,
in the fourth round at cornerback. So that's some possible
(31:07):
options there that I like, and that leads me before
the draft the free agent recap here with the following
color coordination board.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
You all ready for this? You all ready for this?
Speaker 1 (31:17):
But no, no, no, okay quarterback, I remember the colors
are Blue is cornerstone, Green is plus starter, Orange is
quality starter, and then we get to the not so great.
Purple is quality depth or special teams, Pink is replacement level,
red is camp body, and then black is unknown incomplete injuries,
(31:39):
whatever it might be. So Blue, green, orange, purple, pink, red, black,
good okay quarterback to a Tungueoai low a cornerstone player
for me, Blue quarterback I don't think you're gonna upgrade
on him unless you trade for Josh Allen, Patrick mahomes
Lamar Jackson, and if those guys are available, great, go
do it. I have Zach Wilson as replacement level. I
do think there's potential to go higher than that. We
(32:00):
haven't seen it so right now, he's a pink player
at running back. I have Devon ah Chan in the
Green category plus starter. I have Jaln Wright in the
Orange category as a quality starter. I think that's a projection.
I think he'll it is a projection. I think he's
gonna have a good year and kind of get himself
in the good graces. I have Madison as a pink
replacement player, and then ingold is depth and special teams
(32:21):
because it's kind of what the fullback is right. I
still have two cornerstone wide receivers despite what happened last year,
Tyreek Hill Angelen Waddle both are blue players. I have
Nick Westbrook, a Knean orange player, as a quality starter.
And then I have two quality depth guys I'm a
League Washington and d S Gridge. I have a replacement
or rather a camp body and Eric Azukama and then
Taj Washington and Tarique Black are both in the black
(32:43):
category unknown At tight end, I have John hus Smith
in the green category as a plus starter my tight end,
Pharaoh Brown is quality depth. In the purple category, Julian
Hill is replacement level, and then Tanner O'Connor and Hayden
Rouchie are both camp bodies. At tackle, I have Patrick
Paul as a quality star. I think he's gonna make
that jump this year and be a good player for you.
I have Austin Jackson as a plus starter in the
(33:05):
green category, and then Keon Smith is black because I
don't know, you know where he's gonna wind up with
the injuries. And then I have Braden Daniels, Jackson Carmen
and Ryan Hayes in the red camp body category, and
then Armstead is just an unknown hanging out there still
on defense. On the defensive line, I have Zach Seeler
as a blue player, a cornerstone player. I have Benito
(33:25):
Jones as quality depth, and then Matthew Dickerson and Neil
Ferrell as red camp bodies. Off the edge, I have
two plus starters in Jalen Phillips and Chop Robinson. I
knocked Bradley Chubb down to the orange category as the
quality starter. We'll see what he looks like coming off
the injury. And I have four players that are in
the purple category for quality depth, Quentin Bell, Mo Kamara,
(33:45):
Cam Good and Grayson Murphy, and then William Bradley King
is in the red camp body category. At linebackers green
two players Jordan Brooks and Willie Gay Jr. I have
Tyrrel Dotson as a quality starter in the orange category.
kJ Britt is purple quality depth, and then two red
players and Chang Tyndall and Dakwan Jackson. At cornerback, Ramsey
(34:05):
still a cornerstone player for me.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
He's blue. Cater Coho is.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
Orange quality starter, and then Ardi Burns his quality depth
in the purple category. I have Cam Smith, Ethan Bonner
and Storm Duck in the red category as camp bodies.
Speaker 2 (34:19):
I just am not seeing it.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
And then that's the same for Bump Cooper, and then
I have Isaiah Johnson and Jason Matrie and the black
uncertain we don't know what they are category. At safety,
I have Iffy Mela fon Wum as a plus starter.
He's green, He's a great player. He just doesn't stay healthy.
Then I have two purple players, and Elijah Campbell and
Patrick McMorris, and then I have Ashton Davis as a
pink replacement level player, and Jordan Colbert is red as
(34:43):
I can't buy.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
So there you go.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
There's your roster evaluation, post free agency, some draft thoughts.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
We'll have more.
Speaker 1 (34:48):
Content coming away over the next month, including guests, scouting
reports on these players, all kinds of fun stuff here
on the Draft Time Podcast. In the meantime, you all
please be sure subscribe, rate review, follow me on soul
at week for NFL the team at Miami Dolphins. Check
out the Fish Tank Podcast with Seth and Juice, the
YouTube channel for Dolphins HQ, Draft Time interviews, media availabilities,
(35:09):
and so much more, and last but not least, Miami
Dolphins dot Com. Until next time, fins Up, Carolina, Cameron Daddy,
He's coming home.
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